US Government agencies and organizations take notice: .com is out, .gov (and .mil) are in.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released guidance last week, updating existing requirements for Federal domain names—including .gov or .mil domains—and marking another critical move in delivering trusted interactions to visitors of official government sites.
Does this mean USPS.com will have to move to USPS.gov? Quite possibly.
Dot .GOV domains – Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
Federal agencies must use government domains, such as .gov and .mil, for all official communications, information, and services.
“A good government domain name should be memorable for the American people, not longer than necessary, and describes the relevant government organization or service unambiguously,” says the memo from the OMB.
As of April 2021, .gov domains are free of charge to all eligible registrants, including agencies. Agencies should register new domains, reuse existing domains, and retire unused domains to meet their operational needs; clearly communicate information; and deliver trustworthy and recognizable public services.
The official web site to register .gov domain names as an approved agency is Get.gov, not GoDaddy.com.
